So, What Did You Do Today?

When you are retired, most of your days have no routine to them. When I wake up in the morning, I have my breakfast, read the paper, check all of my favorite blogs and message boards, check my email etc. OK, I guess you could call that a routine. But then, I decide what I will do with the rest of the day.

Well, today was clean the house and wash all of the glassware day. So, I vacuumed, dusted, tidied up etc. downstairs then I dug into my collectables. OK, I admit it. I am a collector!! Always have been but hopefully have given up that habit. But, those things that I have collected and still keep need to be cleaned once or twice a year. And today was that day.

As you can see, I love ruby glass. I think I inherited this trait from my mother. Anyway, I have tons of it. I did manage to sell off a few pieces at my garage sale but I still have a ton of it which I hate to give up.

Yup, more ruby glass. Mostly Fenton and Anchor Hocking. But you can see that I also have a collection of crystal bells and Haviland 12 Days of Christmas plates. God only knows why I collected all of these things. But, it gave my family great ideas for my birthday and Christmas presents!

Oh, did I mention that I like ruby glass?? My all time favorite piece is the vase in the middle on the top row. I got it for $7 years ago at an auction. There are two pieces. The bottom part is white onyx and the top is the most gorgeous ruby you will ever find. I have no idea how old it is, who made it or what--but I love it.

This was one of my passions for awhile. They are bells with the state flower on each one. 50 bells!! I got one or two in the mail every few weeks for I don't know how long. Lovely to look at but a pain to clean.

Quite a few years ago, we had an old hotel here in town called the Fort Findlay Motor Inn. They had a great bar where we would hang out at after play rehearsals. My daughter and I also did a couple of dinner theatres at the hotel so, yes, she hung out there too. When they sold the hotel, they had a huge sale and I was able to get one of the two ruby hanging lamps from the bar. It now graces our family room. It doesn't put out a lot of light but I do love it.

This is my favorite Fenton piece. I saved for this guy. I don't think we have ever used it as a lamp but just something to look at. Sad, really. A lamp this beautiful should be used.

OK, what I didn't show you were the cabinets full of Hummels I have also collected. Figurines, bells, plates, Nativity scene, etc etc etc. Geez, what was I thinking??

And, yes, each and every piece of what you have seen and haven't seen needs to be washed every so often. So, today all of the items you have seen pictured here were taken down, tenderly washed, dried, and placed back in their respective spots. Well, ok, I didn't exactly take the chandelier down and wash it but I did give it a good rub down with Windex!

So--that was my day. And what did you do today?